Florida Advances Tuition Aid for Children Brought to U.S. Illegally

Celebrations broke out in the Florida Senate gallery Thursday as the body voted to make students who were brought to the United States illegally eligible for in-state tuition.Credit
Mark Wallheiser for The New York Times

MIAMI — After weeks of hand-wringing in the State Legislature and last-minute attempts by Senate leaders to scuttle the effort, the Florida Senate on Thursday voted to make students who were brought to the United States illegally as children eligible for in-state college tuition, an issue dominated by political calculations at least as much as policy ones.

The vote, 26 to 13, capped off an emotional debate on the Senate floor over the importance of giving talented Florida students, the so-called Dreamers who were brought here illegally as children by their parents, the chance to have access to affordable higher education.

Looking up at the gallery filled with the students, an emotional Senator Jack Latvala, the Republican lawmaker who fought to revive the bill, said he saw the “hopeful eyes cast down on us today that are thinking about their future, about how they are going to get an education and provide for their families just as we all have tried to do.”

“Their eyes are on us today as are the eyes of the country because Florida is a big and diverse state,” he added.

The amended bill will now move to the House, which has already passed it once, and then head to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature, making Florida the 20th state to offer some kind of in-state tuition to students brought to the country illegally.

The legislation’s passage in the Florida Senate on Thursday, despite deep divisions among state Republicans, is the latest sign that the state’s conservative Legislature and Mr. Scott, a Republican, plan to intensify their courtship of Hispanic voters. Mr. Scott is running for re-election this year against former Gov. Charlie Crist, now a Democrat. Most polls show him trailing Mr. Crist.

Mr. Scott, who in 2010 pushed for an Arizona-style crackdown on illegal immigration and last year vetoed a driver’s license bill for children brought to the country illegally, is already trying to reach Hispanics in Spanish-language commercials. Earlier this year, Mr. Scott selected a Cuban-American former state lawmaker, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, as his running mate. Hispanics make up about 14 percent of the state’s electorate.

“You still have the extreme views within the party that believe that we have to take a more hard-line position,” said Rudy Fernandez, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush and the White House. “What you are seeing in Florida and nationally is that there is growing momentum within the Republican Party to support comprehensive immigration reform and the Dreamers.”

So critical was the legislation’s underlying message to Hispanics in Florida that former Gov. Jeb Bush and former Gov. Bob Martinez, both Republican advocates for immigration overhaul, joined with Mr. Scott in a statement two weeks ago to pressure Senate leaders to support the bill. In taking that stand, Mr. Scott risked upsetting conservatives and the Tea Party Republicans, who were his most loyal supporters when he was elected in 2010.

After the vote on Thursday, Mr. Lopez-Cantera, who worked with Mr. Scott and the State House speaker to help get the bill passed, called it historic.

Photo

Spectators on Thursday as the Florida Senate debated a measure on aid for students who have been referred to as Dreamers.Credit
Mark Wallheiser for The New York Times

“This was touch and go at times, definitely,” he said. But, he added, “It’s about doing the right thing.”

Yet given the growing influence of Hispanics, many with little devotion to a particular ideology in a state that swings capriciously between the Democratic and Republican Parties, the question is why it took the Legislature this long to act. Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, California, Nebraska and New Jersey all voted years ago to make it easier for children brought to this country illegally to attend state universities by offering in-state tuition. This week, Virginia’s attorney general, a Democrat, overrode the state legislature to put in place a similar measure.

“What Democrats proved in 2008 and 2012 is that the way to win statewide elections in Florida is by picking up the Hispanic vote,” said Fernand Amandi, a partner in Bendixen & Amandi International, a polling and political consulting firm. “Republicans in Florida are as aware of that reality as anybody else.”

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The in-state tuition bill had been introduced off and on for more than a decade, with no success until now.

Despite the delay, Democrats praised the bill on the Senate floor, calling it an investment in Florida’s future. To qualify, students must graduate after attending a Florida high school for three years. They can then compete with out-of-state applicants to obtain a waiver that grants them in-state tuition.

“Let’s give them an education, then they have a career and then they become good Florida taxpayers,” Senator Maria Lorts Sachs said.

The legislation has been stalled for years in large part because of the makeup of Florida’s Legislature, which is overwhelmingly Republican and more conservative than the state as a whole. Florida is not immune to the conflict over immigration that has immobilized the United States Congress, and statements made during a brief debate on Wednesday revealed those concerns.

Senate leaders, including the president of the State Senate, Don Gaetz, who initially blocked the bill, expressed worries about its potential cost and the possibility that dangerous immigrants could benefit. Others talked about how lawbreakers should not be rewarded. “This is not about access; these kids have access,” said Senator Kelli Stargel, a Republican. But, she added: “They are not Floridians. They are not even U.S. citizens.”

Mr. Crist is also vulnerable to criticism on the issue. In 2006, when he was a Republican and the attorney general of Florida running for governor, he said the State Legislature did “the right thing” in rejecting a similar measure. Mr. Crist now supports the move. And recently Mr. Crist came out in opposition to the American trade embargo against Cuba, a change from his days as governor and one that is sure to anger some Cuban voters who support the 52-year-old embargo.

The tug of war between Mr. Crist and Mr. Scott over the hearts and ballots of Hispanics in the state has already unleashed a string of campaign attacks. A liberal group released an ad on Wednesday that skewered Mr. Scott’s past hard-line stance on immigration. And Republicans have relentlessly criticized Mr. Crist over his flip-flops. “Charlie Crist, the human chameleon, has held at least two positions on practically every issue, including issues the Hispanic community cares about,” said Ana Navarro, a Republican political strategist.

For now, some Republicans view the in-state tuition bill as a step in the right direction, one that will benefit children in vulnerable positions. “This is about upward mobility, about a subset of our population that has attended our public schools,” said State Representative Jeanette Nuñez, a Miami Republican who sponsored the bill in the House. “We have spent tens of thousands of dollars educating them and it doesn’t make sense to hold these children back.”

A version of this article appears in print on May 2, 2014, on Page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: Florida Advances Tuition Aid for Children Brought to U.S. Illegally. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe